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mod11rem
PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 7:37 pm  Reply with quote
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Location: Jonesboro, AR

All right, enough talk about guns, loads, gun companies, etc. It's time to relate a fine dining experience.

start with eight or so plump juicy skinned quail breasts.(I made this for the four of us.) Soak in cold salt water for an hour or so. then marinate in cheap zesty Italian dressing and a cup of red wine. (Merlot, Cabernet, or good Chianti will do). Reserve rest of wine for sustenance while preparing and dinner. Another hour of marinating (30-45 min will do, most marinades do whatever they're going to in 30-40 min). wrap each breast with a half piece of bacon, secure with two toothpicks on bottom side. Place breast down on med fire til bacon starts to cook and sear. turn breast side up and cook on medium low fire for 30-40 min til done. If everyone isn't home on time, move off fire and continue to cook on very low heat.

While this is going on, place fresh asparagus in steamer (put table spoon of minced garlic in water), bring to a hard boil (lid on ) and turn off fire. Will continue to cook some but stay hot and be ready when you are. When you get the asparagus going, start the rice. Regular Ark long grain white or brown will do. small package of wild rice mixed in even better. long grain white or brown takes about 20 min, wild rice a little longer.

Now the salad. Romain hearts (coarse chopped) and baby spinach half and half. Thin slice a whole bell pepper into 1-2" strips (any will do, but red or yellow are prettier). toss well. fill salad bowls and top each salad bowl with 4-5 grape tomatoes, 4-5 mandarin orange or fresh baby clementine wedges. some unsalted Walnut bits and pieces, and crumbled Feta cheese. use any salad dressing you want, but a nice balsamic vinegar really brings it all out when served with the orange/walnut/feta combination.

Pop in some Mrs. Schubert's dinner rolls 10 min at 350.

Check on birds. should be cooking slowly and bacon self basting the breasts. sip wine throughout this entire procedure.

By the time you've got all this other done, the birds should be about ready. Serve rice and asparagus hot, on plate with at least two birds per diner. Hot dinner rolls with butter and tangy salad. Good wine at room temp. And enjoy the last but often best part of the hunt.

If it gets any better than this, let me know. I've got some dandy ways to do duck and dove also. I love the hunt and all that goes with it, but serving my family (or anyone else) a fine meal from the fruits of my endeavors, is especially satisfying. I even made a picky almost vegetarian teenager happy tonite. later mod11rem

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fin2feather
PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 8:15 pm  Reply with quote
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Location: Kansas High Plains

Rem,

I've got the cigars and a nice whisky selection; if I invite you over will you cook?

Wait a minute; I just drooled on my laptop....

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bustingclays
PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 10:09 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 23 Nov 2005
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Location: Illinois (in the burbs of St. Louis)

mod11rem:

I've got a fairly good wine selection (several 1985 Grand Cru Bordeaux's) and some fresh kansas chukar breasts - what time should I show up? One of my best shooting friends was born and raised in Little Rock so I'm sure we could find your place. He has been meaning to take me to the Remington Shooting Facility anyway...

I could bring a Covey Run Guwurztraminer for the second bottle Wink
(by the way I highly recommend this selection to accompany fresh cooked fowl of any kind - it is $7.99 a bottle around these parts...)

let us know....

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16gaugeguy
PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2006 5:42 am  Reply with quote
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I learned to love pan fried quail with onions during my Florida days. Two quail per person is about right. I clean, skin and soak for an hour in cold lightly salted water then rinse, cut in halves with bird shears and flatten each half with a mallet. Thinly slice enough onions to cover each quail half and lightly sautee in olive oil until clear and tender. Remove to a side plate when done. Next, dredge the quail halves in flour with bread crumbs, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder, Goya green top Adobo, and a pinch of italian seasoning. Now increase the heat and start the quail in the oil until browned on both sides. Add a bit of oil if needed before starting the quail. Next, remove the quail, pour off any excess oil but a small amount, reduce the heat, put the quail back in the pan, cover the quail with the onions, flip them so the onions are on the bottom and heat gently for about 5 minutes in a covered pan. Next, increase the heat, flip the quail to rebrown the up side quickly, and remove from the heat. Serve the quail topped with the onions along with cuban style black beans and rice, and any green veggie on the side. Your favorite wine or beer is optional. 16GG

The recipe for black beans and rice is on any can of Goya black beans. The Cuban eateries in Florida all served it. The stuff is addictive and very nurishing.
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revdocdrew
PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2006 7:41 am  Reply with quote
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Suspect most of you have had S. TX grilled quail. Breast out a bird, sprinkle alittle Lawry's salt and put a Jalapeno pepper in the breast cavity. Wrap a thick slice of bacon around the whole thing and secure with 1-2 toothpicks. Place on BBQ grill (Jalapeno down) and when the bacon's cooked, the quail is ready. Not near a classy as you other fellas (no idea what wine to serve with this one?!?) but great eating with an icy Lone Star.
Dove's excellent this way also.
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16gaugeguy
PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2006 8:54 am  Reply with quote
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rev, do they still sell Pearl beer anymore?
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revdocdrew
PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2006 9:03 am  Reply with quote
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It saddens me greatly to admit I haven't been to S. Tx. since the mid-90's (was blessed to make 3 trips, 2 on the King Ranch and one during an absolutely incredible year-covey every 200 yds and didn't even bother with the singles) Don't even know if they still make Lone Star (near blasphemy Very Happy I know ) but do know they quit making my favorite-Dixie Beer.
You guys with some class can keep talking about fine wine-16GG and I will discuss beer.
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mod11rem
PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2006 9:52 am  Reply with quote
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Location: Jonesboro, AR

I can weigh back in on S. TX and beer too. I lived in the LRGV for 3 years in the late 80's. My wife worked for a big research farm and I had 14,000 acres of grain and cane to hunt on no questions asked. Back then dogs were a luxury not a necessity... we would bust a new covey every 20-30 minuets just walking. and Laguna Madre (between the mainland and Padre Island) was only 50 minutes away. Great redfish and speckled trout and flounder anytime. We would hunt ducks on the bay (primary overwintering habitat for pintails and redheads); when it got slow, we'd just toss a live shrimp on a bobber out the back. Went home many times with ducks, trout and redfish all in the same day. Further, there was about a ten day period in Jan when winter dove season, quail season, and duck season were all open. A grand slam was a limit of each in one day (we'd kill mallards etc off the ditches and ponds up around Hargill). I only got two grand slams in three years.

On to beer, they still make Pearl and Lone Star, if you could stand either of them. We drank a lot of Pearl lite in the brown glass grenade bottles when in grad school at TX A&M. It was cheaper than cheap and you never had a bad head, so you could study or work the next day. My favorite of course was Shiner Bock made in Shiner TX about 14 miles off 77 headed South from College Station to the Valley. Back then you could only get Shiner in about 25 counties in TX. The brewery was founded in 1909 by some German immigrants and isstill owned and operated by the family. Now of course, it's nationwide and one of the new "Yuppie" beers. Costs about $5.00 in a bar. We drank it for $7.5/case back then. Cost 55 cents in 1985 at Martins BBQ in CS by the bottle. Martins specialized in Pork BBQ which made us Arkies feel at home; the rest of those Texicans thought BBQ was beef brisket and ribs.

While we're on the subject of food, I did learn to cook brisket. I didn't even know what it was when I moved to TX. I learned from my next door neighbor in Weslaco. He was the 3 time South Padre Island Brisket and Fajita cooking champion. If anyone's interested, I'll be glad to divulge the secrets of the best brisket you ever put in your mouth. Fajita's and pico de gallo, too. later mod11rem

Ahh, those were the days.

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revdocdrew
PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2006 12:06 pm  Reply with quote
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Stop Mod 11-you're killing me Laughing . My father was a surgeon in Corpus Christi from 58' til the late 70's and I got in on alittle of that but the stupid fish eating ducks tasted worse than a roasted cow pie by the time the made it to S. Tx. So what made you leave that paradise?
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mod11rem
PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2006 3:11 pm  Reply with quote
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revdoc, nobody said we ate those ducks!! Had a kid 1000 miles away from the nearest grandmother and got an opportunity for both of us to come back to Arkansas after 8 years in Texican land. I loved the Valley, the people, the food and if you liked tohunt and fish is was truly paradise. You do what you gotta do and learn to like it. I still have many friends there and get down there once a year or so on business, sometimes squeeze in a hunt or fishing trip. Most of my old quail hunting grounds are still there. A lot of the rest of the Valley is strip malls and subdivisions. Oh well. Maybe one day I'll turn into a Snowbird. not!! later

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scorpion
PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2006 8:20 pm  Reply with quote
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mod11rem,
You have definitely lived in paradise. I'm 25 miles northeast of Houston, and I've dined on some South Texas quail in most exquisite circumstances (not luxurious, just exquisite, while hunting), and you have described paradise. I don't get down there nearly enough, but I'll join you any time you can head that way during any hunting season. I have any gauge (2 16's) and will be glad to accompany you any time. Let me know.

Scorpion

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16gaugeguy
PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 7:13 am  Reply with quote
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I used to buy Pearl beer at Albertson's in Orlando, Fl fairly regular. It was both cheap and good. It never gave me the beer headache Bud would. It was not the strongest beer, nor did it have a heavy body. However, after a hot day on the construction site, knocking back a Pearl or three was fine by me. I could get up the next morning and function.

Albertson's sold a bunch so the Pearl they got was both fresh and well refrigerated. That seems to make all the difference. I had some that probably was not fresh or stored well. It was not fit to drink. However, it made a great base to steam shrimp, florida bugs, or wieners in and as a marinade for snapper, snook, spotted sea trout, and puppy drum filets.

I worked in and around Texas off and on. I did some wet pants flycasting in a few of the lagoons and shallows on Padre Island for spots and reds. The best thing Texans ever did for fishing was put an end to wholesale and indiscriminate inshore netting. I took the idea and the proof it worked back to Florida. There, I helped the Central Florida chapter of the Backcountry Fly Casters become active in the "Ban the Nets" movement that eventually saved the inshore fisheries in our state.

I think Texas was the first state to see the need. My hat is off to the Texas sport fishermen and marine biologists for their foresite and encouragement. The movemente eventually traveled around the gulf coast and up the Eastern seaboard. Your efforts helped save a nation's inshore fisheries. I thank you. 16GG.
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Paul Dwight
PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 8:09 am  Reply with quote
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I graduated from North Mesquite High School in Mesquite, Texas. Attended SMU in Dallas before joining the Air Force. I was stationed at Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls, Texas for 3 years. By the way that is the armpit of Texas. I think one of the best things you can see in your rear view mirrow is Texas! However, I have drank a lot of Pearl beer and agree with everyone in regard to it. It tastes great cold, was cheap, and had virtually no bad after effects.

Paul Dwight
Chattanooga
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16gaugeguy
PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 8:42 am  Reply with quote
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Not being from Texas, I can't say I'd miss it if I'd been a native. However, most folks I met there were fine folks with a few AH's, but that goes for Anywhere, USA. One thing I learned about Texas and the South in general--the AH's generally stick right out like blaze orange so they are easy to avoid. In the North, its not as easy to tell sometimes. I do know some local folks can be hard on a serviceman. that is also true anywhere. It must be doubly hard if your from the state and still treated like a stranger.

Some places in Texas were dust blown and desolate as the back rooms of hell. Others were as beautiful as anywhere. I liked the Bluebonnets in spring on the sides of the roads. They filled me with a sense of promise and new life. The East coast was either beautiful or as f*cked up from industry, shipping, and oil refining as could be found anywhere. I really enjoyed San Antonio once I learned how to navigate and what to look for. The Mission Trail was a good experience. Austin is still one of my favorite places. Dallas/Fort Worth could be tough on a pilgrim.

However, I never had to make a living in Texas. I was there on contracted work. I came and went as needed with just enough time left for finding the good things there. There's good everywhere Paul. I'm sorry you missed it in Texas. I hope you've found some in Tennessee. That's also a nice state for the most part. Part of my roots lay in the Blue Ridge, so I have a soft spot for the hills and the folks who abide there. 16GG.
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rayb
PostPosted: Fri Feb 10, 2006 10:27 am  Reply with quote
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i was 21 before i knew they made any other beer in the US besides Pearl &/or Lone Star. I thought Shiner was imported beer Smile

If you went way up north (north of US Highway 90) there were still lots of German folks who spoke with a very noticeable German accent and liked their Pearl very well....

i was fortunate enough to grow up in that part of south Texas where if you wanted to go to Mexico you had to drive west. They had plenty of Bohemia, etc beer there, this was before the days of yuppie Mexican water beers made for export to the gringos

was also lucky enough to live on a ranch for a while 26 miles from town, behind 2 locked gates... went to town once a week whether i needed to or not...

those were the good ole days....

much of that country is being taken out of ranching and subdivided into high fenced hunting preserves for the zillionaires from Hollywood, Dallas, Houston, New York and other assorted armpit locations.. and they sure can produce some armpit type of people as well...

the quail population is doing better these days, durig the droughts of the early 50's they were rare, and nobody hunted them to speak of that i remember. A few were shot with 22's for variety to mix in with the doves,

new habitat and management techniques have improved the quail populations greatly.


rayb

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